Yes, it's called smørrebrød, and yes that means buttered bread in Danish. But, believe it or not, you can occasionally replace butter in your smørrebrød using a variety of different delicious bread spreads slathered thickly on your rugbrød. These rich alternatives (while not exactly low-fat, but then neither is butter) add depth and complexity to many a Danish open-faced sandwich. Mayonnaise is a good example of an alternative. But there are others and there are plenty of opportunity to experiment and come up with your own ideas.
In this blog post, I'll show you how to make a traditional-style savoury spread using readily available ingredients, as well as a Quebec-inspired version that I made up while jogging home from work the other day (I was pretty surprised that it worked out as beautifully as I had hoped when I actually made it). I think of food when I jog! Anyway, making your own sandwich spreads is a breeze. From an equipment standpoint, all you need is a frying pan, a blender, and something to contain the final product. Danish Degree of Difficulty = Easy!
Traditional Savoury Spread for Smørrebrød
The traditional spread is based on rendered bacon fat. Need I say more? The ingredients for this recipe have been around in Denmark for centuries, and might even have been enjoyed by hungry Vikings after a genial pillage of some poor unsuspecting Frisian village. I am not a food historian, so maybe I'm wrong about this, but there is something about bacon fat on bread the evokes begone times at least as far back as the Late Middle Ages, if not the good ol' Dark Ages when the Vikings were running amok in Europe.
So here are the ingredients you'll need to make a delicious, bacony savoury bread spread:
1) Begin by frying the bacon over medium heat in a medium-sized frying pan. Continue frying until most of the fat is rendered out of the bacon.
4) Cook over medium heat until the onions are brown and the apples are very soft.
6) Put it in a suitable container, for instance in one of these perfect Danish clay crocks, and cool thoroughly before spreading it on Danish rye bread and enjoying heartily.
While the Jelling Stones do not provide an ancient runic recipe for bacon fedt (as far as I know), I would not be surprised to learn that there are, in fact, runes somewhere in Denmark that contain the ancient traces of a recipe for the savoury bacon grease bread spread I enjoyed years ago in Jelling. And I'll bet there were generations of Vikings who handed down their recipe runes so they too could enjoy their smørrebrød just like I am today!
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| Savoury spreads: there is more to life than butter! |
Traditional Savoury Spread for Smørrebrød
The traditional spread is based on rendered bacon fat. Need I say more? The ingredients for this recipe have been around in Denmark for centuries, and might even have been enjoyed by hungry Vikings after a genial pillage of some poor unsuspecting Frisian village. I am not a food historian, so maybe I'm wrong about this, but there is something about bacon fat on bread the evokes begone times at least as far back as the Late Middle Ages, if not the good ol' Dark Ages when the Vikings were running amok in Europe.
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| Bacon savoury spread - the ingredients you'll need |
- About 300g of bacon, coarsely chopped (or, better yet, lardons if you live in Montreal)
- 1/2 an onion, sliced
- 1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 3-4 sprigs of thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
Here are the steps:
1) Begin by frying the bacon over medium heat in a medium-sized frying pan. Continue frying until most of the fat is rendered out of the bacon.
2) Strain out the grease, putting aside the bacon pieces (which you'll no doubt want to enjoy on another piece of smørrebrød).
3) Return the bacon grease to the frying pan and add the other ingredients.
4) Cook over medium heat until the onions are brown and the apples are very soft.
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| 1) Fry up the lard to render out the fat, then strain 2) Add onion, apples, thyme and pepper and cook in bacon fat 3) You're done when it's all caramelized and yummy looking! |
5) Pour all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
6) Put it in a suitable container, for instance in one of these perfect Danish clay crocks, and cool thoroughly before spreading it on Danish rye bread and enjoying heartily.
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| Fedt - Danish for "fat"...Yum! |
As I sit here, noshing on my primordial fedt and rugbrød, re-reading my blog post wistfully, my mind wanders back to the time I was hitchhiking around the Jutland peninsula one summer ending up in the small Danish town of Jelling (population 3,200) about 80km south of Århus.
I had almost no money and was hungry and wet. It was late evening and drizzly, yet still greyishly broad daylight, and I sauntered into the first tavern I passed. It was quiet, and my arrival did not go unnoticed. I asked the barman if I could get a beer and something to eat for the few kroner I had in my pocket. He smiled and gave me a few thick slices of rugbrød and a clay crock pot of fedt. "No charge." I thought he was making fun of me, but he urged me to try, so I did. It was better than perfect. I still love it to this day.
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| One of the Jelling Stones |
After, I ventured out into the town and discovered, to my amazement, the presence of the famous Jelling Stones and burial mounds. The two Jelling Stones are covered with Runic inscriptions, which are probably the best known of their kind in Denmark. These stones were raised by King Gorm the Old and his son, Harald Bluetooth, to celebrate their conquest of Denmark and Norway. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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| Could this be part of an ancient Viking recipe? What does it mean? |
By the way, if you want to write your own name in Viking runes, check out the following PBS web site.
Wow! That was a long digression. At the start of this post, I promised that I'd share two recipes. So here is the second, non-traditional, very tasty version that I dreamed up while jogging home one day. It's made from duck fat, which is readily available in Montreal supermarkets, prunes, onions, and cider vinegar. The ingredients come together in a smooth, dark puree of sweet and sour goodness. It almost looks like Nutella and tastes like nothing else!
Ingredients:
- 3 TBSP duck fat (easily found in Montreal grocery stores)
- 1/2 cup pitted prunes
- 1/2 onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 3 sprigs of Thyme
- 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- A bit of water
- salt to taste
Steps:
1) Heat duck fat over medium heat in a medium-sized frying pan.
2) Add onions, garlic, thyme, and prunes.
3) Cook until the onions are brown and soft. About 10 minutes.
4) Scrape ingredients into a blender, and puree, adding vinegar (and water, if needed).
5) Adjust seasoning with salt.
6) Place in a suitable container, and cool thoroughly.
7) Enjoy on Danish rye bread with your favourite smørrebrød.
One fo these days, I'll get around to posting a vegetarian spread. I just have to wait for the inspiration to strike me. If you have your own ideas, please let me know!
